GOODBYE

I will be leaving Age Concern at the end of April this year. I have been working as the Chief Officer for the last six and half years and during that time we have at least doubled our activities and services for local older people. I have immensely enjoyed my job; it was full of challenges that I enjoyed most. However, what I started to do as a part time job, has now become a full time job (and more) which I never intended to have. Therefore it is time for me to move on and have more free time to do other things that I wish to do in my life.
We are in the process of recruiting my successor and I am sure that your management committee ,who always have your best interests in their hearts, will employ someone who will be dedicated to Age Concern at least as much as I have been.

I sincerely wish everyone healthy and fulfilling lives. Take care.
Hattie Cox
Chief Officer

THE REDHILL CENTRE

Our Centre Manager Heath left Age Concern at the end of January this year and since then I have been managing the Redhill Centre on the three days a week that it is open. We won't be employing a Centre Manager but my successor will be managing the Redhill Centre after I leave.
Hattie

IT/Internet Learning at the Redhill Centre

We are happy to offer IT/Internet classes at the Redhill Centre on Tuesday and Thursday Mornings between 10 a.m. and 12 noon. Ideal for all older people including shy & complete beginners who would like to learn about computers but do not know a friendly place where they can feel comfortable & less intimidated.

Hairdresser Services at the Redhill Centre

We welcome Jean Peck, our new hairdresser at the Redhill Centre. Jean is at the Centre every Thursday and she is happy to book appointments between 9.30a.m. and 3.30p.m. There is a weekly appointment list on the door of the Hairdressers Room at the Redhill Centre where you can come and make your own appointment. Or, please phone the Redhill Centre to check availability and make an appointment on 01737 762489.

BELFRY CAROL SERVICE

We have received a cheque for £342 from Churches Together in Redhill & Salfords raised at the Carols@the Belfry Service in December 2006. We have put the money towards buying our first laptop for the Redhill Centre. We thank Churches Together for selecting us as one of the charities to support and all local residents for their generous donations.

QUALITY COUNTS REPORT

By the time you receive this newsletter, we will be having a visit from our Quality Counts Assessor,. She will be visiting the Merstham Centre, Meadvale Friendship Club and the Redhill Centre on Tuesday, the 6th of March and some of you will be able to meet her. Her visit is a follow up to our Quality Counts Report that we sent last year as a requirement of our membership to Age Concern, the federation and she will be assessing our achievements against Quality Counts.

HOLIDAYS

We are happy to tell you that we have now received the Creative Travel Ltd. Holiday brochures and booking forms for the following holiday:

ISLE OF WIGHT - The Sands Hotel in Sandown Sunday 1st July 2007 to Saturday 7th July 2007
PRICE £368.00 - 7days

7 day holiday * Full English Breakfast & Evening dinner & Entertainment every evening * Tours everyday except Wednesday * Free holiday cover

Creative Travel Holidays are offering this holiday exclusively to our members until the end of March. Please book early. Phone the office for a booking form & brochure. If we have enough bookings to fill the coach, it will cut the traveling time as it won't have to stop elsewhere afterwards to pick people up from different places.
The coach pick up / drop off point will be our Redhill Centre where you can wait inside and have the use of the facilities.

SOCIAL OUTINGS

We will be sending the new outings programme separately later in the month for the April-June period. We know that the Worthing trip on the 29th March is very popular and that there are more than 40 people on the list. We will be using the two minibuses and those who can't go on that day will have a chance to go in the first week in April.

Thank you for sending your suggestions regarding some new places of interest, we have tried to include them on the outings list.

Also, some of you could not go on all the outings although you put your names down on the list as soon as you received the Outings Programme. Thank you for being so understanding. As I explained before, we try to make sure that everyone wishing to use the outings service is given a chance to go on an outing. I know it is very disappointing for some, but please do continue putting your names down for all the outings you wish to go on. Seeing a large number of names on our outings lists is a very strong evidence of need for us. If there is an increasing need, we then take action and try to increase the service provision accordingly.
So, the good news is that we will in future try to use two minibuses for the Social Outings Service in order to meet the needs of more local older people.
Hattie Cox
Chief Officer

WELCOME

Membership Renewal Forms

Click here for this year's Membership renewal form (Word document). Please complete it and hand it together with your subscription to your Club/Centre Organiser or post it to the Merstham office. All local residents aged 50 and over are eligible for membership with an annual subscription of minimum £5. It helps us to keep basic information about our members which we can use for correspondence (e.g. sending Newsletters) and also in cases of emergency. For instance we must have GP and Next of Kin details etc of everyone that we take on an outing. It would enable us to contact the family and/or GP of everyone should an emergency occur during an outing.